


Sunshine (English Version)

by Garcia_Allen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Auror Consultant! Theo Raeken, Auror! Liam Dunbar, Gryffindor Liam Dunbar, Hogwarts, M/M, Mirror of Erised, Post-Hogwarts, Slytherin Theo Raeken
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27326242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garcia_Allen/pseuds/Garcia_Allen
Summary: When Liam asked the older boy what he had seen in the Mirror of Erised, Theo was silent for a long moment before finally saying the word."Sunshine."
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	1. "What did you see in the Mirror of Erised?"

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Sunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27315301) by [Garcia_Allen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garcia_Allen/pseuds/Garcia_Allen). 



> Thiam in the wizarding world!
> 
> I'm excited about writing this fic!
> 
> Still translating it from my original Chinese version, and to be honest, I've never read the Harry Potter Series in English, so I have literally struggled with this translation. If you find any improper word or grammatical mistakes, please feel free to let me know!

When he asked what Theo had seen in the Mirror of Erised, the other boy’s hand, which was mixing the potion, stopped abruptly. It was in the Potions class; the steam overflowed from the cauldron permeated in the gloomy dungeon, adding a bit of warmth to the formerly chilly space.

Liam asked casually, with a bit of mild curiosity, just like a random question that came up during the boredom of cutting ingredients.

The Slytherin he was partnered with turned his head silently, looking at him with a mixture of caution and defensiveness in his eyes, mixed with a slight panic disguised underneath the indifference.

Coming to realize that it probably wasn’t really appropriate to open the conversation with such an inquiry, Liam tipped his head to indicate his lapel pin and explained, “I was in charge of last night's night patrol, Raeken, and I saw you.”

“What opinion does our great Head Boy now intend to give on this?” Theo grabbed the pieces of the chopped daffodil root and tossed them into the boiling potion，letting out a snort, “Someone doesn’t seem as dedicated as I thought. By the way, I am indeed impressed by your profound knowledge, Dunbar.”

“All right, I did ask Mason, only about the academic part, of course,” Liam said, starting to tackle the next ingredient needed for the potion, only the violent actions of his hands betraying his displeasure. “My apologies I didn’t know everything—”

“No offense, Dunbar, but you just wasted a share of ingredients,” the older boy interjected, with a fake sigh, “Cutting into segments instead of crushing it. Congratulations on at least remembering to take two servings.” Theo paused for a moment, gazing at the foam condensing on the surface of the potion, and then suddenly asked, “So, what did you see?”

“What?” Liam was a bit unresponsive.

“You looked in that mirror too, didn't you?”

“Right,” he realized, deciding to tell most of the truth with reservations, “Defeat Slytherin in the Quidditch match this weekend.”

The comment Theo was going to make was like choking in his throat. “That’s definitely you, Dunbar,” He finally said.

Liam chuckled, then asked, “What about you?”

A long silence ensued.

All that remained was the gurgling of the potion, the soft chatter of the students around them, and the curses of Professor Hale from not far away, something about “This potion is literally as green as the Black Lake outside, what’s inside in the little thing you called a brain, five points from Gryffindor!”

Theo had his head down, his eyes on the perfectly colored surface of the liquid in the cauldron, the orange-yellow potion glowing with tiny dots of gold as it was stirred.

Just as Liam decided to take an intuitive and started to apologize by saying “I’m sorry, that was probably an inappropriate question, you don't have to answer me”, the voice from the other boy interrupted him.

It was just a word, a word that Liam hadn’t expected to be in this scene, but it was surprisingly appropriate coming from Theo's mouth.

The dark-haired Slytherin was in a mist made of steam, the flames and potion mixing to create a light shade that softened his usual sharp look and coated his head with a pale, light gold on this autumn afternoon.

Liam only felt as if his heart had missed a beat. At that moment, he seemed to glimpse a hint of vulnerability carefully concealed through the other’s hard shell.

The voice was low and a little husky.

“Sunshine.”

The Saturday of the Quidditch match was a rare sunny day, with bright sunshine and barely clouds. As if echoing the good weather of the day, the Gryffindor team opened the scoring shortly after the start of the game and held the lead throughout. The cheers and applause from the crowd were almost audible throughout the Quidditch pitch as the seeker caught the Golden Snitch in the 23rd minute of the game.

Liam was descending slowly from high in the air on his broomstick, inadvertently meeting eyes with Theo, who was leaning against the entrance to the Slytherin stands. He was pretty sure the other boy hadn't been in the same position he was in now five minutes ago, but the small figure in his heart went against his brain and started singing an off-key song of joy the moment he saw Theo.

Theo made a gesture to him and turned away from the pitch, the patch of green lining the hood in his back seemed like the green grass that stretched from the hillside all the way to the castle, which reminded Liam of those emerald green eyes.

With a cheerful mood, he spent the rest of the day, and not even the Potions class assignment that was approaching its deadline and the chaos of the celebration party in the common room could dampen the smile on his face, until he ran into Theo again in the third-floor hallway during his nightly rounds.

“Good evening, Dunbar,” it was Theo who started, he was not wearing his tie and only on the flimsy school shirt with the sleeves casually pulled up at the crook of his arm.

“You know, maybe we can stop calling each other by our last names like that, I DO have a first name.” Liam sighed, “It’s past curfew. What are you doing here?”

“If I remember correctly, it was YOU who first started choosing to call me by my last name, _Liam_.” the Slytherin in front of him trailed off deliberately over the name in the end, “Well, as you can see, Mr. Head Boy, I was on a night out, breaking school rules, wandering around, whatever you want to call it. Are you going to take away all our Slytherin House points and take me to the Head of House? I will absolutely cooperate.”

Liam, with somewhat frustration, deciding to ignore the other boy’s feigned innocence and the hidden sarcasm beneath it. “No, Theo, okay, I’m supposed to punish you for detention, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it.” He took off his metal badge and stuffed it in his pocket, “It’s Saturday, so congratulations on your one exemption.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if you got your title revoked for something like that.” Theo gave a fake smile and after a few seconds of thought added, “In all honesty, I think you like me calling you by your last name.”

“I prefer you to call me Liam.” he answered, “Come on, you want to join me in the kitchen for a late-night snack? Cookies and pumpkin juice or something, I'm hungry.”

“No pumpkin juice,” Theo quickly retorted, “I’d rather have something more 'muggle'.”

Liam stuck his wand back into his robes and motioned for Theo to follow him, casually complaining, “Don't muggles drink pumpkin juice?”

“Oh, they don’t drink pumpkin juice that tastes like that, thank you.”

“So what do you want to drink?”

“Coffee. Black.”

They walked down the stairs, side by side, and after a turn, drove briskly through the corridor, stopping at the silver bowl of fruit-filled portraits. Liam scratched the pear in the bowl, which turned into a green doorknob after a chuckling sound.

The younger boy pulled the door open and gestured to Theo with an “after you”.

Even after curfew, the kitchen was still as busy as ever.

The aroma of food filled the expansive space, firewood crackled in the fireplace, and perhaps because of the atmosphere, Liam found it more warming than the noisy common room.

The house-elves quickly slipped the two what they wanted into their hands.

"Wow," Theo let out a small sigh as he leaned against a long table, "I know how to open this door, but I've never actually been here before."

Liam sat on the stool next to him and looked up as he heard the words, “You’re really missing out on a lot then. What have you been doing on your previous night out?”

"Just…wandering around," Theo replied softly as he took a sip of his coffee.

"You can come back later, or with me." Liam bit into a brownie and paused, trying to change the subject after a long moment of silence, "I saw you on the pitch. Have you ever tried Quidditch?"

“Nope. If you ask me, I’d say Quidditch is a barbaric sport,” Theo tsked, “And a bunch of people on broomsticks chasing after a few balls, well, just seems like a lot of fun. Riding on a broomstick isn’t a very safe thing to do either—”

“Wait,” Liam stopped his unfinished words as if realizing something, “you've never ridden a broomstick before.”

“I’ve never had Flying lessons, Liam,” Theo trailed off, “What do you think the dread doctors have taught me? Experiments don't deserve to enjoy entertainment. Besides, I can fly without a broomstick.”

“But...broomstick is different.”

“What’s different?”

“Well, I can’t really say it...whenever I ride my broomstick, it makes me feel relaxed and free.” Liam thought for a moment, “I have an extra old broomstick in my dorm if you'd want to use it. You don’t have to learn Quidditch, but I can help you fill in the missing Flying lessons.”

He didn’t know exactly how well he was expressing himself, but wished he could be as sincere as he imagined.

Theo stared at him for a long moment, finally dropping his eyes and smiled.

“…Okay.”

Liam grinned unconsciously as well. It occurred to him that this seemed like the first time Theo had a genuine, unabashed smile all semester.

“It’s a deal.”


	2. “Come on, Liam, I’ll let you have my bed.”

Waking up at three in the morning in your muggle apartment to the sound of owls knocking on your window was definitely not an enjoyable experience. Not to mention the fact that you just got back from the library two hours ago.

Theo cursed in a low voice, snapped his fingers, and the closed window pulled smoothly and automatically to the right; two owls flew inside one after the other.

The Screech Owl with pointed ear tufts dropped a letter marked “Urgency” and flew away with a quick flap of its wings. The other Tawny Owl brought him a note that could hardly be called a letter, and stopped at his bedside, rubbing its head against his palm.

That was Liam’s owl.

“Thank you, little one. It’s been a long time.” He rubbed Leo’s head and unfolded the crumpled note. Only a few scribbled all-caps words on the message that wrote “ANSWER YOUR PHONE ASSHOLE”, with bleed stains of ink around the edges.

He frowned and pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket in the corner of the bed—the screen that didn’t light up after pressing the home button indicated that it had already shut down automatically due to low battery.

Seriously, he was going crazy busy and it really wasn’t his fault, was it?

He yawned and opened another letter that had obviously come from the Auror Office. Despite the envelope, the letter was almost as brief as Liam’s note. Emergency Meeting. NOW. At the bottom was signed the name of the Head of the Auror Office, Noah Stilinski.

Weird.

The two letters had a clear connection at this point. It had been several years since he had attended a meeting held in the dead of night.

He nudged Leo’s beak, “Go home, or sleep here, whatever, Liam probably is too busy to take care of you.”

Theo grabbed his wand, changed and freshened up in a matter of seconds, and with a soft blasting sound, apparated to the entrance to the Ministry of Magic.

The circuitry of the streetlamp above the broken-down red telephone box seemed to be a little out of contact, flickering with a pale light in the middle of the night. A figure leaned against the side of the telephone box, holding a cigarette between his lips; the dim light and upward drifting smoke blurred the man’s face.

The man looked up as he heard the sound and caught eyes with Theo, who was not far away.

“Mr. Argent.” Theo nodded to the other man.

“Raeken.” Argent spat out a puff of smoke, “What, hasn’t Stilinski given you permission to apparate access the Atrium yet?”

“I’m not an official employee of the Ministry of Magic, you know that,” he looked to his former professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, “And I have no interest in actually being one. I’m doing fine in the muggle world.” He unconsciously fiddled with the wand he carried in his pocket, deciding to dispense with the unnecessary pleasantries and ask the question he was most concerned about, “Did the Ministry call you in too?”

“Assisting in the investigation,” Argent affirmed his suspicion, “Shooting, muggle stuff. Two in-service Aurors dead. It’s probably not appropriate for me to tell you this, but Stilinski will tell you later anyway.”

“Shooting?” He repeated, muttering. Guns were not a popular weapon in the wizarding world, not to mention that they were tightly controlled in the muggle world in recent years as well, and the case also involved the death of Aurors…was it a wizard’s elaborate disguise, or it was done by some other non-magical squib or muggle—

“Go on in,” Argent interrupted his thoughts, stubbing out the cigarette, “Stilinski is waiting for you.”

“Wait,” Theo called out to the other man, remembering Liam’s note, “Who died exactly?”

Argent paused in the middle of pulling the door of the telephone box open, turned around, and looked at Theo with an obscure gaze.

“Talbot’s. Brett and Lori Talbot.”

Technically speaking, they had never been friends with Theo. Unlike Lori, who could also be classified as a good professional colleague, Brett and he hadn’t had much interaction even back in the Hogwarts days, and had only had a few brief encounters when necessary after the other had become an Auror.

But they were Liam’s friends. And friends of Josh and Tracy to boot.

The sound of “Welcome, Auror Consultant Theo Raeken” drifted past him like a rush in the telephone box. He walked quickly through the silent Atrium and took the empty elevator downstairs. The only light on the second floor was the Auror Office. Parrish, leaning against the door, saw him and lifted the coffee pot in the right hand, asked, “Coffee?”

“Thanks.”

The older Auror handed him a cup of coffee in a paper cup. Theo took a sip of the liquid, carrying the steaming cup towards Liam’s cubicle.

Liam was sprawled out on his desk, unmoving, pressing down some documents that were spread haphazardly on the table. Theo walked up and put his free hand on the other man’s shoulder.

“Sorry I’m late.” He said softly, with a soothing note.

Liam lifted his head slowly and turned around mechanically. His face was pale, almost expressionless, but there was a ring of red around his eyes.

The initial anger left only vague traces at the moment. Theo stared down at the look that remained on the face below, knowing Liam too well, so well that the other man’s thoughts were almost visible to him.

It was grief, and even more remorse.

Liam was silent for so long that Theo almost thought he wouldn’t get a response. Still, he eventually started to talk, mixing in a bit nasal sound.

“I was there too, Theo,” his whispered, the voice was slightly husky, “I was only a block away from Brett when he died.”

As if remembering something, his breath shuddered after a brief choke, and then gradually quickened.

“Hey,” Theo set his cup down on the table and bent down to put his other hand on Liam’s shoulder as well, “I got you, you’re here with me. We’ll solve this case, for sure, I promise you.”

In a gentle but unquestionable tone, he continued, “Liam, breathe with me. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in... breathe out...”

It took a few rounds before the breath of the man in front of him slowly settled down. Theo was about to say something else when the sound of a door opening not too far away interrupted his action.

Stilinski stepped out of his office and clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention in the room. Argent, who had come in behind Theo earlier, stood beside him. Theo straightened up, maintaining one hand on Liam’s shoulder, and leaned against the cubicle’s flap next to him.

“I’m sure you all have a general understanding of the case,” this Head of the Auror Office cleared his throat, “Within the same day, we lost two of our well-trained Auror companions. Without further ado, the priority is to get to the bottom of this case thoroughly and bring the perpetrator to justice as soon as possible to avoid further casualties.”

He touched the wall behind him with his wand, and the golden words began to appear as he spoke. “The two incidents occurred not far from each other. Lori Talbot, the first victim, was gunned down from a room across the street in an abandoned vacant house in Ards at around 5 p.m. while she and her partner, Smith, were following the trail of a dark wizard. The second victim, Brett Talbot, had insisted on going to the same location after hours to investigate his sister’s death, but his body had been found an hour earlier on the same street.”

“The perpetrator used 9mm bullets,” Argent picked up on Stilinski’s previous words, “And from the signs left at the scene and on the bodies, the tentative assumption is that the weapon used was a pistol.”

“At the first crime scene, in conjunction with Smith’s testimony, the perpetrator fired a total of nine bullets, and only five of them struck Miss Talbot,” he waved his wand to conjure up a picture of the body, “and of those five, three struck on non-lethally parts. Only the two bullets in the temple and the carotid artery were the real cause of death.”

Argent then pulled up Brett’s picture. Theo could feel the muscles under his hand visibly stiffen of a sudden. He gave the other man’s shoulder a comforting squeeze and heard the voice in front of the room, explaining the case continue. “The situation with Mr. Talbot was similar. Five bullets, two missed, one lethal. Our perpetrator is obviously not a fully trained and skilled person, but this person’s weapon was clearly modified. Not excluding there was the inclusion of magic involved, there were no casings left in the empty house or on the street, and the only one we found was tightly pinned in Mr. Talbot’s hand.”

Stilinski shook his wand, and the previous details on the wall scattered; an enlarged image of the shell casing appeared in the center area.

Was that an... iris? Theo looked at the blurred pattern engraved on the casing and frowned slightly at the intake of breath from the crowd around him.

“Yes, as you might expect,” said Argent, “the casing is plated with a rarely seen plating, silver. There is only one man in the whole of Britain who can supply such weapons, a dark fugitive wizard well known to all of you here, my father—Gerard Argent. Though he had never used a gun himself, he was the largest arms dealer in Britain in recent decades until he was wanted. If I’m not mistaken, he’s back.”

Stilinski cleared his throat again, stopping the whispering in the room. “We need to find him, and we also need to find who he’s funding. Based on the clues we have so far, we can’t really say whether the perpetrator is a wizard, a squib, or a muggle. This person may have a grudge against the Talbot’s, but it’s more likely that this was an attack against the entire Auror Office.”

“Our crackdown last week on the peaceful march of the squib in front of the Ministry of Magic made a lot of them upset,” interjected a female Auror, standing to his right. “It’s hard not to think twice about the attack at this juncture.”

“True, White, we don’t rule it out,” Stilinski nodded, “Allow me to repeat, we are dealing with Gerard Argent and his crazed henchmen, and the attack is likely to be directed at all of Aurors. Parrish, White, you two are to follow up on this case and follow me to my office now. The rest of you are dismissed; it’s been a long night.”

As if on second thought, he turned to Liam and said, “Dunbar, take the day off, and don’t let me see you in the office during the day.” He ignored Liam’s blurt of “I’m fine” and led the two Aurors into the office.

Liam stood up and piled the documents spread out on the table to the side. Theo watched his stiff movements with arms crossing and then grabbed his cold coffee from the table.

“You know the reason that Stilinski called me here is to check on you,” he said, “You don’t really look well.”

Liam avoided that comment, pursed his lips, and pushed his chair back into the table in silence before saying, “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to Cambridge.”

“It would be more accurate to use the phrase ‘come back to Cambridge with me.’” Theo finished his coffee and tossed the cup into a trash can not far away. As he saw now, Liam’s shiner became more visible in the light, and his face was almost pallor.

He sighed. “Come on, Liam, I’ll let you have my bed.”

————————————————————

This is Leo:

This is the Screech Owl from the Auror Office:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this new chapter!
> 
> I feel sorry about poor Brett and Lori. It's just for the plot.
> 
> And I know there's no Auror Consultant in Harry Potter, also just for the plot ;)
> 
> All kind of comments is welcome! ❤️❤️❤️


	3. “Seeing the fact that you’re standing alive in front of me, that means a lot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for the late update; I'm back XD.
> 
> I'm not so sure about the next chapter's updating time though, since the finals are coming.
> 
> I do have an end to this fic, and I'm excited about finishing it (although it will be a long time from now; the current part is just the very beginning). SO, I will be back for sure.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this new chapter of Hogwarts!

The morning breeze of autumn passed through the half-open windows, bringing the scent of trees and earth mixed with dew. Liam turned a corner, walked through the silent hallway, and climbed the stairs to the Owlery on the top of the West Tower. It was still early in the day, and the twinkling stars were faintly visible in the sky; even the moon was hidden behind the clouds, with only an obscure red halo on the distant skyline.

He didn’t expect to meet anyone else here at this time.

The other boy in the robe was leaning against the window with his back to him, staring sideways at the owl resting on the edge of the window. After letting out a small hoot, the tawny owl rubbed his head against the person’s arm.

Liam had never seen his owl get along _so_ _well_ with other people.

Unwilling to disturb the scene, he quietly slowed his pace, but the boy still turned his head when he heard the noise, withdrew his hand at the instant he saw Liam, and stood abruptly upright.

“Hell, Liam, what are you doing here?”

“Good morning to you too, Theo,” Liam said, holding up the envelope in his hand, “To send the letter, obviously. What are _you_ doing here?”

“To get some fresh air.”

Liam raises his eyebrows, responding non-committal to this answer. He stepped forward and caught Leo as he flew down on his forearm, “He likes you a lot.”

Theo seemed to smile slightly but didn’t answer back. He stared at the younger Gryffindor’s actions and was silent for a moment before saying again, “Should I be honored by this?”

“Of course,” Liam grunted and stopped a few steps forward in front of the window, watching the owl flew away with carrying the letter. The older Slytherin leaned against his side, turned his head when he heard the answer, and looked out the window at the horizon, which was gradually turning to a color mixed with red and gold by the sunlight. Several birds flapped through the air and disappeared into the far yellow and green forest below.

The two of them just stood wordlessly alongside each other, and for a moment, only the sound of their breathing and the hoots and flaps of owls filled the room with a comfortable silence.

“It’s quiet here,” Theo said softly.

Liam realized they were back on the same page.

“It’s the Owlery,” he countered, “which is basically the opposite of ‘quiet’.”

“It’s called white noise,” Theo quickly interfaced, “The sounds here help me clear the mind and focus on my thoughts.”

Thinking about what? Liam wanted to ask, but then remembered that it probably wasn’t the right thing to ask given their current state of the relationship, and he had no intention of initiating the past few years, and the “Th—" that just came out hesitantly faded into the air.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze following the right hand of the boy next to him on the window frame and climbing up his arm to his neck, finally resting on the side of Theo’s face that left no expression, the dark Hogwarts robe contrasting sharply with the pallor of his face. Liam noticed the faint, imperceptible shiner below the other’s eyes.

He wondered how long Theo had been here.

Instead of actually asking the question, which was also absolutely out of place at the moment, he decided to change the subject gingerly, “Do you want to go to breakfast?”

“…Huh?” Theo, as if he hadn’t expected that one and only responded after a pause of a few seconds, “No, thanks, maybe later.”

“I’ve got to go,” Liam looked at the time, before realizing how long he’d been here, “See you in class.”

“See you,” Theo waved lazily.

As he reached the door, he turned around subconsciously. The sunrise in the sky pierced through the clouds, pouring a ray of daylight on the young man in front of the window. It was just a figure from the back, but at that moment, Liam felt that Theo seemed to have receded from his usual aloofness and was in a state that almost gentle.

He had his first class as free period, and Defense Against the Dark Arts was his actual first class of the morning. It wasn’t exactly Liam’s favorite class. Still, it was one of the few he was good at, until the Ministry of Magic decided to make the damn Occlumency mandatory for N.E.W.T. after the curriculum reform.

And the day had turned out to be one of his worst days.

After a brief explanation, Professor Argent divided them into pairs and continued the exercises from the previous lesson. It wasn’t that he had a problem with the practice, he was trying, and maybe making a little progress, but those attempts were nothing compared to the perfect partner he had. His fellow Slytherin, Theodore Raeken, who had consistently excelled in the classroom, had shown an incredible knack for both Legilimency and Occlumency.

Liam didn’t have any prejudice, really, he could understand what it took to get there; He was just frustrated and discouraged, and maybe a little irritated, after a string of failures. After all, not everyone could keep smiling after being snooped into many embarrassing situations.

Not to mention that Theo mocked him mercilessly.

“That’s… _something_.”

Well, maybe not to an unforgiving extent, but still exceptionally awkward. Liam felt his face was about to burn up, “Shut up! The fact that you and your best friend were chased by a wolf for two hours in the Forbidden Forest isn't going to help you keep up appearances. Hey, _this_ is not funny, at all!”

Theo gave an odd expression, as if amused, and a wisp of a smile remained in the corner of his lips. He trailed off, “I don't think it was really that long of two hours.”

“You weren’t there; you had no say,” the younger one retorted discouragingly.

“Who knows?” The other boy grunts, “I could be anywhere.”

“Whatever,” Liam took a deep breath and waved his wand, “ _Legilimens!_ ”

The spell worked. At first there was only darkness, then the inky chaos shifted to form the scene of the Forbidden Forest, with a full moon stuck in the gaps between the treetops, creating a picture of tranquility.

He blinked and dragged himself back to reality, spewing a grunt through his nose, “Fuck you, Raeken.”

“It is indeed my memory,” the Slytherin standing in front of him showed complete innocence. “You did it, congratulations.”

Liam squeezed his wand tightly, admonishing himself to remain level-headed and not punch his opponent in the face, which looked distinctly sleep-deprived. “Come on. I’m ready.”

“ _Legilimens!_ ”

The classroom vanishes in the blink of an eye, and Theo’s consciousness is undeniably darted into his head. The Owlery in the early morning, the patrol on the porch at night, the flaming fireplace in the kitchen…Liam tried to resist, _thinking of unimportant memories_ , the year of the first goblin rebellion is…the other boy broke through his defenses with ease, passing between scenes of memory—the Mirror of Erised in the empty room, the crimson curtain above the bed in the darkness, and that long-lost nightmare, _the crack that abruptly opens on the ground from which a pale hand was reaching out…_

Wait, no, NOT that one—

Liam reflexively shouted the first spell he could think of, “ _Protego!_ ”

The impact made him stagger a few steps, and when he looked up, the scene around suddenly changed again.

It was a dark corridor with a huge tapestry of trolls and Barnabas the Barmy hanging at the end of the hallway, and an oozing sliver of moonlight dragging a long trail across the floor through the closed window. _The Room of Requirement_ ，Liam’s breath shuddered; his attention was drawn to the two overlapping figures in the corner.

Tara Raeken, who had been dead for many years, with dry hair hanging loose over her shoulders, pressed down on her brother, grabbed him by the neck, and thrust her other pale, skinny hand into his chest without any hesitation. Theo at the bottom, coughed up a mouthful of blood, but struggled to speak under pressure, his voice still soft, mixed with a little relief that Liam couldn’t quite understand.

Liam felt like his heart was being squeezed for an instant.

_“It’s okay. You don’t have to stop.”_

In the very next moment, the sight of the previous hallway faded like a tidal wave, and the Slytherin with whom he was partnered braced himself in a few paces away, stiff-faced, with a cold voice, “That’s enough.”

In the silence that filled the room, Theo turned around and quickly left the classroom.

“Sorry Professor Argent, the Hospital Wing!” Liam gestured to the professor at the other end of the room and hurried after the previous boy.

“Theo, Theo, wait!” he finally managed to tug on the other boy’s arm, “Look, I’m SO sorry, I really didn’t mean—”

"No, Liam," Theo interrupted him, veering off and picking up the pace. “Not a word. Don’t think that just because you partner with me in every damn class gives you the right to tell me what to do as you please. What am I, your extra responsibility as the Head Boy? I don’t need your phony pity.”

Liam stiffened his grip on Theo’s fleeing arm, breaking the clenched fist. “As the Head Boy, technically, no, you are not really my responsibility,” He moderated his tone, “But as myself, simply being Liam Dunbar, I like to spend time with you; I wish I could help you.”

“I don’t—”

“I won’t bring up any subject with you that might make you feel uncomfortable, I promise,” he made a zipping motion over his mouth, “Seriously, as I was going to say earlier at the Owlery, you look like hell. Come on, you need to go to the Hospital Wing and have Miss Morrell give you a dose of Draught of the Living Death.”

Theo slowly turned his head around to stare at him and turned his head back after a few seconds, “Okay.”

He quietly let Liam tug him forward, suddenly whispering as they reached the top of the stairs, “Every time I close my eyes, they’re there, those dreams, those _memories_.”

The Gryffindor beside him gave him a surprised glance, as if he hadn’t expected him to bring up the subject. “That’s…your _real experience_ in _hell_ ,” Liam said cautiously, “That’s the reason why you never seem to get enough sleep.”

“Partially,” Theo trailed off, “Sleeping problems are nothing new to me.”

“I also have nightmares, as you saw,” The younger boy bit his lip unconsciously, “and last year was the worst. Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to compare the two—”

“Stop,” Theo sighs, continuing the previous conversation. “I’m glad you’re starting to move on.”

“Seeing the fact that you’re standing alive in front of me,” Liam whispered with a tiny smile, “that means a lot.”

Theo didn’t reply, just averted his gaze, but Liam noticed a little flush coming through the side of his ear.

The older boy stopped abruptly again as they reached the front door of the Hospital Wing. “Are we really going to walk in there holding hands?”

Liam then realized that he had been holding the other’s hand the whole way, and quickly pulled it back. “Oh, Sorr—"

“God, Liam, let me hear that fucking s-word again I swear I will—”

“Mr. Raeken, Mr. Dunbar,” Miss Morrell’s voice came from the insides of the room, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“Uh, hi, Miss Morrell,” Liam pushed Theo in, “He definitely needs a dose of Draught of the Living Death and a bed.”

“You, Mr. Raeken, I’m afraid I can’t give you any more sleeping potion; you used up this month’s allotment almost two weeks ago,” Miss Morrell waved her wand, “let me see what I can do for you, um, a bed, no problem, with…a big bar of chocolate. You’re a little low on blood sugar.”

“You didn’t eat breakfast,” Liam realized this fact and raised an eyebrow slightly, “You said you’d be there.”

“I didn’t ever promise that,” Theo muttered.

“Mr. Dunbar,” Miss Morrell turned to the other boy in the room, “go find a seat, make yourself feel comfortable; we both know you won’t leave anyway.”

She supervised Theo finishing his chocolate and led him to a bunk, “Try to get some sleep; I’ll let the professors know. I’ll be in the inner room. If you need anything else, please feel free to let me know.”

Theo nodded, taking off his robe and folding it on the shelf nearby. He lay down reluctantly in the gazes of the other two and watched as Liam dragged an armchair over to his bedside.

The Gryffindor, who was almost two years younger than him, once again held his hand from the edge of the bed and spoke softly, “Sleep, Theo, I’m _here_. You’re safe; you’re _here_ with me…”

Closing his eyes, at the sound of the other boy’s words, surrounded by the overwhelming scent of the potions, it was as if Tara had finally disappeared into the darkness; the noise of the world around was gradually fading away. For the first time in these days, he actually fell asleep at last.


End file.
